Fey was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Zenobia "Jeanne" (née Xenakes),[7][8] is a brokerage employee.[9] Her father, Donald Henry Fey (died 2015), was a university grant proposal-writer.[7][10][11] She has a brother, Peter, who is eight years older.[7][12] Fey's mother, who was born in Piraeus, is the daughter of Greek immigrants: Vasiliki Kourelakou, Fey's maternal grandmother, left Petrina (in Laconia) on her own, arriving in the United States in February 1921.[13]

Fey attended Cardington-Stonehurst Elementary School and Beverly Hills Middle School in Upper Darby.[17] By middle school, she knew she was interested in comedy.[14] Fey attended Upper Darby High School, where she was an honors student,[18] a member of the choir, drama club, and tennis team, and co-editor of the school's newspaper, The Acorn.[18][19] She also anonymously wrote the newspaper's satirical column, The Colonel.[20] Following her graduation in 1988,[17][21] Fey enrolled at the University of Virginia, where she studied play-writing and acting and was awarded the Pettway Prize.[22] She graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama.[23]

After college, she worked as a receptionist during the day at the Evanston YMCA and took classes at Second City at night.

Fey was an extra in a 1998 episode,[27] and after watching herself, decided to diet[28] and lost 30 pounds. She told The New York Times, "I was a completely normal weight, but I was here in New York City, I had money and I couldn't buy any clothes. After I lost weight, there was interest in putting me on camera."[29] In 1999, McKay stepped down as head writer, which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position.[25] She became SNL's first female head writer that year.[30]

In 2000, Fey began performing in sketches,[9] and she and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL's Weekend Update segment.[30] Fey said she did not ask to audition, but that Michaels approached her.[28][31] Michaels explained that there was chemistry between Fey and Fallon,[31] though the decision was "kind of risky" at the time.[32] Her role in Weekend Update was well received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "...Fey delivers such blow darts – poison filled jokes written in long, precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history – with such a bright, sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful."[33]Dennis Miller, a former cast member of SNL and anchor of Weekend Update, was pleased with Fey as one of the anchors for the segment: "...Fey might be the best Weekend Update anchor who ever did it. She writes the funniest jokes".[34] Robert Bianco of USA Today, however, commented that he was "not enamored" of the pairing.[35]

When Fallon left the show in May 2004, he was replaced on Weekend Update by Amy Poehler.[37] It was the first time that two women co-anchored Weekend Update.[38] Fey revealed that she "hired" Poehler as her co-host for the segment.[39] The reception was positive, with Rachel Sklar of the Chicago Tribune noting that the pairing "has been a hilarious, pitch-perfect success as they play off each other with quick one-liners and deadpan delivery".[37]

The 2005–2006 season was her last; she departed to develop 30 Rock for Broadway Video.[40] At the time she left, the 117 episodes she co-hosted made her SNL's longest-serving Weekend Update anchor, a mark that would later be passed by her replacement, Seth Meyers. In Rolling Stone Magazine's February 2015 appraisal of all 141 SNL cast members to date, Fey was ranked third in importance (behind John Belushi and Eddie Murphy). They credited her with "salvaging 'Update' from a decade-long losing streak," and "slapping SNL out of its late-nineties coma."[41]

In 2002, Fey suggested a pilot episode for a situation comedy about a cable news network to NBC, which rejected it. The pilot was reworked to revolve around an SNL style series, and was accepted by NBC.[43] She signed a contract with NBC in May 2003, which allowed her to continue in her position within SNL as head writer at least through the 2004–2005 television season. As part of the contract, Fey was to develop a prime-time project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal.[44][45] The pilot, directed by Adam Bernstein,[46] centered on Liz Lemon, the head writer of a variety show on NBC, and how she managed her relationships with the show's volatile stars and the new head of the network.[47] In October 2006, the pilot aired on NBC as 30 Rock. Although the episode received generally favorable reviews,[48] it finished third in its timeslot.[49]

In 2007, Fey received an Emmy Award[52] nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.[53] The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series (and did so again for two subsequent years).[54] In 2008, she won the Golden Globe,[55]Screen Actors Guild,[56] and Emmy awards all in the category for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[57] The following year, Fey again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories,[55][58] and was nominated for an Emmy Award.[59] In early 2010, Fey received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress,[60] and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actress.[61]30 Rock was renewed for the 2010–2011 season in March 2010.[62] The series returned for the 2011–2012 season, though due to Fey's pregnancy with her second child, the season premiere was delayed until midseason.[63] Fey's performance on the show was inspired by Julia Louis-Dreyfus,[64] and later used Louis-Dreyfus to play the stand-in for the character of Liz Lemon in flashback scenes during the live episode of the fifth season. On May 11, 2012, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a seventh and final season, to premiere October 4, 2012, with 13 episodes. After receiving 13 Emmy Award nominations and two wins for this final season, 30 Rock ended its critically acclaimed run with 112 Emmy award nominations. It has been cited as one of the greatest TV series of all time[65] and it is considered to have one of the greatest finales in television history.[66][67][68]

In 2015, Fey created and produced the television comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with fellow 30 Rock-alumnus Robert Carlock. The series stars Ellie Kemper as the titular character who escapes from a doomsday cult and moves to New York City. It also stars Fey's former co-star Jane Krakowski, as well as Tituss Burgess (who had previously appeared in four 30 Rock episodes) and Carol Kane. Although it was originally produced for NBC, it was eventually sold to Netflix and immediately renewed for a second season.[69] The show premiered on March 6, 2015 to critical acclaim, although since the premiere episode there has been a lot of criticism made against the show due to its handling of race. Some felt that the handling of Native American culture was “offensive”, and many criticized the use of yellow-face and a rape acronym for Asian-Americans critical of yellow-face in “Kimmy Goes to a Play!”. [70]

Fey and former SNL castmate Amy Poehler starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama. The movie was written and directed by Michael McCullers. The plot concerns Kate (Fey), a business woman, who wants a child but, discovering she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant, decides to find a surrogate: Angie (Poehler), a white-trash schemer.[82]Baby Mama received mixed reviews, but critics enjoyed Fey's performance. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Fey is a delight to watch throughout. Able to convey Kate's intentions and feelings through the simple looks and inflections, she never melodramatizes her situation; nor does her efficient, perfectionist side become overbearing."[83] The movie grossed over US$64 million at the box office.[77]

Fey's projects after 2008 include a voice role in the English-language version of the Japanese animated film Ponyo.[84] In 2009, she appeared in The Invention of Lying,[85] alongside Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Christopher Guest.[86] Her next film role was in Shawn Levy's 2010 comedy Date Night,[87] a feature that focuses on a married couple, played by Fey and Steve Carell, who go on a date; however, the night goes awry for the two.[88] Also in the same year, she voiced Roxanne Ritchie, a television reporter, in the DreamWorks animated film Megamind (2010).[89] With a total worldwide gross of US$321 million, Megamind is Fey's most commercially successful picture to date. It earned US$173 million outside the U.S. and US$148 million domestically.[77]

In 2013, Fey starred alongside Paul Rudd in the romantic comedy-drama film Admission, based on the Jean Hanff Korelitz novel by the same name. The film was directed by Paul Weitz.[90] Fey later starred in the 2014 comedy-drama This Is Where I Leave You, helmed by Date Night director Shawn Levy. As was the case with Baby Mama, although both of these films received generally mixed reviews, Fey's performances were well received by film critics.[91][92]

From September to November 2008, Fey made multiple guest appearances on SNL to perform a series of parodies of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On the 34th season premiere episode, aired September 13, 2008, Fey imitated Palin in a sketch, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. Their repartee included Clinton needling Palin about her "Tina Fey glasses".[98] The sketch quickly became NBC's most-watched viral video ever, with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday.[99] Fey reprised this role on the show of October 4,[100] on the show of October 18 where she was joined by the real Sarah Palin, and on the show of November 1, where she was joined by John McCain and his wife Cindy. The show of October 18 had the best ratings of any SNL show since 1994.[101] The following year Fey won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.[102] Fey returned to SNL in April 2010, and reprised her impression of Palin in one sketch titled the "Sarah Palin Network".[103] Fey once again did her impression of Palin when she hosted Saturday Night Live on May 8, 2011.[104]

In December 2009, Entertainment Weekly put her Palin impersonation on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, writing, "Fey's freakishly spot-on SNL impersonation of the wannabe VP (and her ability to strike a balance between comedy and cruelty) made for truly transcendent television."[105]Rolling Stone called her Palin impression "[arguably] the most brilliant move SNL ever made".[41]

In 2011, Fey narrated The Secret Life of Girls, a two-hour-long radio documentary produced by The Kitchen Sisters. She introduced stories of women and girls from around the world, and also shared memories of her own girlhood and mother.[118]

In 2012, Fey made her rapping debut on the Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) mixtape Royalty. Glover is a former writer on 30 Rock, on which he worked with Fey. Fey was also featured as herself in the iCarly episode "iShock America".

Fey is known for her deadpan humor and delivery;[119][120][121] her "sardonic wit" has become a trademark of hers,[122][123] upon which several critics have commented in their reviews of Fey's work.[124][125][126] According to Los Angeles Times critic Mary McNamara, Fey "project[s] both oblivious security and hyper-alert insecurity with the same expression" in her performances,[127] while The Chronicle's Dillon Fernando wrote that the actress specializes in "delectable, situational and ironic comedy".[125] On Fey's comedic prowess, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels enthused that his former employee "has a very clear take on things ... It always comes from a place of intelligence and there is just an edge to it."[128] Michaels concluded, "It's not fearful. It's strong and confident and you recognise the voice and most of the time you agree with it."[128] Writing for The Guardian, Christopher Goodwin believes that Fey "fashioned her comic persona around her glasses", which she has worn since 1995; Fey joked that "Glasses make anyone look smarter".[128]

Seldom hesitating to use herself as the butt of her own jokes,[129] Fey is also well known for practicing self-deprecating humor,[130][131] as demonstrated throughout her performance as Liz Lemon in 30 Rock.[132][133] In an article ranking Fey's six greatest jokes, David Renshaw of The Guardian wrote that the performer's work continues to feature her "trademark mix of snark, self-deprecation and pop-culture smarts."[134] Fey's self-deprecating comedic style inspired Ashley Fetters of The Atlantic to recognize her as comedian Phyllis Diller's successor because of their similar humor.[135] Critics have been divided in their opinions and discussions of Fey's use of self-deprecating humor, and its effect on women as a female comic; while blogger Kate Harding disapproved of Fey's performance in 30 Rock because "I'm torn between being sad that she apparently doesn't see [beauty] in herself and being pissed off that she's reinforcing the idea that having brown hair, glasses, and a figure that's maybe a size 2 instead of a 0 actually equals ugly", Jessica G. of Jezebel defended the actress, writing that Fey's performance is "supposed to be parodying precisely the kinds of media that reinforce ideas that unconventional women are unworthy."[132] Writing that Harding misunderstood Fey's intentions, the author concluded that her self-deprecation "is precisely what makes her relatable", elaborating that "[women] have many moments of self-doubt, and seeing someone as successful as Tina Fey be self-deprecating gives us all permission to be imperfect."[132] Sophie Caldecott of Verily defended Fey's modesty and tendency to downplay her own physical appearance: "She mocks her own appearance, sure, but she does so in a way that consistently shows up our culture for placing so much importance on how women look, as if that’s the most interesting thing about us ... Her comic persona on 30 Rock, Liz Lemon, can be laughed at for many things, but her career managerial style and ability is not one of them."[136] Caldecott concluded, "In reality, self-deprecation is an art that comedians everywhere dabble in ... In fact, I defy you to find a good male comedian who isn’t a master of self-deprecation. Comedians make fun of themselves for many reasons, mostly because it is the most readily accessible source of inspiration but also because it is the most generous one."[136] Observing that Fey's material lacks "whining", Gina Barreca of the Hartford Courant wrote that Fey's comedy "is not simply an iteration of self-deprecating femininity passing itself off as humor. In itself, this demarcates the current generation of female humorists from earlier generations of performers who were told, more or less, to use themselves not as a sounding board for ideas but as a punching bag for insults."[137]

As an actress, Fey has developed a reputation for portraying "the hilarious, self-deprecating unmarried career woman" in most of her films to-date.[138][139]The Boston Globe's Janice Paige defended her limited filmography by writing that, unlike most film actors, Fey remains "realistic about her range as a leading lady and says she’s been deliberate about only taking on parts for which she actually seems suited."[139] Fey explained that she approaches each role asking herself, "Would I be plausible in this role, in this job?"[139] However, her role as Kate Ellis in 2015's Sisters provided Fey with an opportunity to stray from playing the type-A female characters for which she has become known.[140]The New York Times film critic A. O. Scott wrote, "We’re used to seeing Ms. Fey ... as an anxious overthinker using her caustic sarcasm as a weapon against both her own insecurities and the flakes and train wrecks who surround her. This time, she gets to be the train wreck."[141] In 30 Rock, Fey's comedic acting was heavily influenced by both physical and improvisational comedy while, as a writer, her "carefully written scripts" were often quirky and character-driven.[142]

In 2002, Fey was ranked in the Hot 100 List at number 80 on Maxim magazine,[143] which used photos taken earlier by Rolling Stone calling her "the thinking man's sex symbol".[144] She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003,[145] and continued as one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007, 2008, and 2009.[146][147][148][149] In 2007, Fey placed seventh on the Hot 100 List on AfterEllen.com.[150] She repeated the appearance the following year, being voted as number one on the list.[151]

In 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Fey as one of their Entertainers of the Year for her work on Weekend Update.[152] In 2007, she was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year,[153] and placed number two in 2008.[154] In 2009, Fey was named as Entertainment Weekly's fifth individual in their 15 Entertainers of the 2000s list.[155] In 2013, Entertainment Weekly crowned Fey as "The Once and Future Queen" (an allusion to The Once and Future King) in their feature on "Women Who Run TV," calling her "the funniest woman in the free world." EW quoted Mindy Kaling as saying, "I always feel unoriginal bringing up Tina as my inspiration, but she's everyone's inspiration for a reason." The column also quoted praise by Zooey Deschanel and Lena Dunham.[156]

The newspaper editors and broadcast producers of the Associated Press voted Fey the AP Entertainer of the Year as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008, citing her impression of Sarah Palin on SNL.[3] She has appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 at No. 99, No. 86, No. 90, No. 92, and No. 79 respectively.[157][158][159][160][161]

In 2007, the New York Post included Fey in New York's 50 Most Powerful Women, ranking her at number 33.[162] Fey was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 and 2009, as selected annually by Time magazine.[163][164] Fey's featured article for the 2009 list was written by 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin.[164] She was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008.[165]

In September 2011, Fey was ranked at the top of Forbes magazine's list of the highest-paid TV actresses.[166]

In 2014, Fey was recognized by Elle magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards, honoring women for their outstanding achievements in film, spanning all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.[168]

Fey's charity work includes support of Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research.[169][170] In April 2008, she participated in Night of Too Many Stars, a comedy benefit show for autism education.[171]

Fey is also a supporter of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization, in their campaign to end world hunger.[172] Fey narrated a video for Mercy Corps's Action Center in New York City, describing hunger as a symptom of many wider world problems.[173] She also supports the Love Our Children USA organization, which fights violence against children,[174] who named her among their Mothers Who Make a Difference, in 2009.[175] She was the 2009 national spokesperson for the Light the Night Walk, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.[176]

In 1994, two years after Fey joined Chicago's Second City improvisational theatre troupe, she began dating Jeff Richmond, a piano player who later became Second City's musical director and then a composer on 30 Rock. They married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on June 3, 2001.[2] They have two daughters: Alice Zenobia Richmond (born September 10, 2005)[177] and Penelope Athena Richmond (born August 10, 2011).[178][179] In April 2009, Fey and Richmond purchased a US$3.4 million apartment on the Upper West Side in New York City.[180]

Fey has a scar a few inches long on the left side of her chin and cheek, the cause of which remained unexplained to the public until a 2008 Vanity Fair profile by Maureen Dowd,[181] and subsequently in her autobiographical book, where she revealed that "during the spring semester of kindergarten, I was slashed in the face by a stranger in the alley behind my house".[182]

^ abcHiltbrand, David (April 28, 2004). "A 'grounded' Tina Fey expands her territory to movies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on June 1, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2014. She was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey to a pair of West Philadelphia natives, Donald Fey and the former Jeanne Xenakes. Growing up in the neighborhood of the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby, Fey was a mystery ethnic thanks to her father's German-Scottish genes.

^"Tina Fey Gets the Last Laugh". Fox News. April 25, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2007. Back in the late 1980s, Fey and the other 'AP-class brainiac nerds', as she called her clique, used to sit together in the lunchroom at suburban Philadelphia's Upper Darby High School, making up nasty nicknames for their classmates

^Starr, Michael (November 1, 2008). "'Rock' Rolls". New York Post: 57. The third-season premiere of Tina Fey's sitcom, 30 Rock, averaged 8.5 million viewers Thursday — a new record for the show. The episode also set a 30 Rock record in adults 18–49 ... timeslot (in total viewers and adults 18–49)

^"Julia Louis-Dreyfus". People magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2012. After winning an Emmy for outstanding lead comedic actress in 2008, Tina Fey thanked Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 'When I don't know how to quite play a scene, my husband will say just try to act like Julia Louis-Dreyfus,' she said. 'So thank you, Julia, that is really working out for me.'

^"Actress Tina Fey Visits. 11/16/06. 9:05am". The Howard Stern Show – summary. marksfriggin.com. November 16, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012. Howard said Tina agreed to do Artie's movie Beer League and she did that as a favor to Frank Sebastiano who wrote the movie. She said she was 7 months pregnant at the time but agreed to do it. She said she got into some trouble for doing it because she wasn't in SAG. She had to join SAG and it cost her $1000 to do the movie. Artie offered to give her a thousand bucks right there if she wanted.

^Dowd, Maureen (January 2009). "What Tina Wants". VanityFair.com. Vanity Fair (Condé Nast Publications). Retrieved January 12, 2012. ... a faint scar runs across Tina Fey's left cheek, the result of a violent cutting attack by a stranger when Fey was five. Her husband says, "It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody who just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen." ...